The use of LEDs for automotive headlight and taillight applications requires LED driver circuits that can operate in severe environments: wide voltage fluctuations (e.g., a battery load dump and short circuits); current spikes; and temperature extremes. In addition, the driver circuits must be able to detect faults. When these faults occur, the circuits need to protect both the LED devices themselves and the electrical system of the vehicle. Meeting these requirements often requires expensive and complex driver boards that contain a large number of protection and fault-detection components.
Maxim's automotive LED drivers operate in these severe environments. They also integrate fault-detection and protection features, thus eliminating numerous external components. This results in lower board cost, increased reliability, and reduced design and test time.
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